On Top of It: Why is Teen Sexual Health Better in Bath?

Here in the UK, we haven’t got an excellent grip on our teens’ sexual health and wellbeing. Our rates of teenage pregnancy are among the highest in Western Europe, which became a key focus of the Government’s White Paper Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation in 1997. The aim of this policy action plan was to ‘cut rates of teenage parenthood, particularly underage parenthood, toward the European average’ but has anyone managed it in the subsequent 16 years?

According to the latest figures published by the Office for National Statistics, which are based on conceptions in England and Wales during 2011, the rates of teenage pregnancy in Bath and North East Somerset are the lowest in the South West, and much lower than both the national and regional rates. Wellness experts believe this is due to initiatives by the council and NHS partners, which includes an active local preventative strategy.

In Bath and North East Somerset, one in 12 sexually active young people test positive for Chlamydia, which is the most common STI in the UK in those aged 15-25. What the health services seem to understand is that it’s not about judging our kids and the way society has changed; rather, our focus should be on the health and wellbeing of the population. Young people need to know they can get help and advice when they need it, as the issue becomes aggravated when it is not discussed. When chlamydia goes untreated, it can lead to damaging inflammation, and even infertility.

So what has Bath and North East Somerset done to minimise the poor sexual health and wellbeing of young people? One vital focus has been the B&NES Teenage Pregnancy Strategy, which improved access to contraceptive and sexual health services. The district has strived to make sexual health services accessible, confidential, up-to-date and young person friendly, which seems to have worked; the district has the highest level of young person friendly ‘SAFE’ (Sexual Health Advice For Everyone) branded services in the South West. The new CaSH clinic in Midsomer Norton, for example, has ‘SAFE’ branding status and actively encourages young people in the town and the surrounding areas to drop in.

Categories: Bath and North East Somerset, Sexual Health Clinic, Teen pregnancy

Why Should You Talk Openly About Sex with Your Teenager?

Believe it or not, there was a time – only a decade ago – when Facebook and Twitter did not exist and mobile phones were owned primarily by adults. Today’s teenagers are now being called the “mobile generation,” with 75% owning a mobile phone – 84% of whom sleep with it turned on by their bed. But what’s that got to do with sexual health?

With all this new technology has come a constant barrage of sexual imagery. Your teenager’s sexual wellness, and overall wellbeing, is being shaped by advertising, prime time television and all forms of popular media, creating new obstacles to “the talk” that weren’t there just a decade ago. As a result, parents, teachers and members of the community need to come together to work with today’s young people and understand the world our teens are facing. Research shows that teens who report having open conversations with their parents about sex are more likely to delay sex, have fewer partners and use condoms and other birth control methods when they do have sex.

Because of this, Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains’ Responsible Sex Education Institute, in partnership with the Healthy Colorado Youth Alliance, hosted a panel discussion entitled Sexual Health in the Digital Age at the Denver School of Science and Technology last year. Perhaps it wasn’t the pithiest of titles, but, in 2011 alone, the Responsible Sex Education Institute presented over 1,000 educational presentations to almost 18,000 participants – they must be doing something right!

Made up of experts from throughout the community, the panel met to speak to the obstacles and opportunities presented by technology, and how that technology can be used to advance sexual health, address teen pregnancy rates and in turn address high school graduation rates in US communities. With an estimated 750,000 American teens (15-19) becoming pregnant each year, the United States has the highest rates of teen pregnancy among comparable countries, and the statistics pertaining to STDs are just as alarming. One in two sexually active young people contract an STD before the age of 25, but as we’re hardly producing monks and nuns back in Blighty, is there something we can learn from Colorado’s initiative?

Why Should You Talk Openly About Sex with Your Teenager?

Categories: education institute, responsible sex, sex education, sexual, sexual health, technology, Teen pregnancy, teens, the talk, young people